Mate-me, Cure-me (2015)

I'll start off my review by saying Ji Sung deserves best male actor of 2015 because his acting was so powerful that it was no longer just a show for me, but that somewhere far away someone was actually going through this. You could see how versatile his acting skills was because he brilliantly pulled off all his personalities. He did such a fabulous job because I was able to form a connection with him as an audience, BTW Ah Yo na was my favorite personality!

This drama was something I had never watched before because of its portray of the DID sickness which was both brilliantly and creatively done. Yes, the family drama and the traumatic childhood was not so different from other korean plots, but the way everything connected to explain the powerful love the main leads naturally played out was amazing!

I had so much fun watching this drama because of the different personalities and the crazy bipolar main actress. Yes, her screams and crying were annoying, and especially her yelling mad me want to slap her. However, it was understandable and you eventually get used to it because it was obviously meant so her character could play the moody bipolar character she was meant to be. I loved her so much, because within all her flaws, she makes you love her, as much as you love the main lead whom you are predestined to fall in love with. The other characters were also amazing because they played their roles so well. My favorite were Oh Rin on and the secretary. The only flaw this drama had were the damn flashback which was of course essential to the show, but I swear there was two or more that were repeated so much that the audience had seen it like a hundred times.

Last, but not least the soundtrack was perfect. There was one which was often repeated that made want to cry. I wish I knew its name. Drama was definitely a 10 for me and I definitely recommend it.

Leia Mais

Just finished watching this and I have got to say my thoughts are mixed. The story follows the trend of psychological disorders and in kdrama world maybe brings something "new" since I have only seen dramas about con men/women, switched bodies, but never on multiple personalities. This could look innovative, but it is something that on USA or UK television has been used and used, so the story was nothing new to me. The general plot is your usual kdrama plot: rich chaebol family with a secret, conspiracy, past wounds, etc. When it started off like this, I expected it to be executed in a certain way and was excited, but moving forward despite my curiosity to find out more, I was not satisfied and felt like something was missing. This is because:

1) It may sound absurd, but for my taste I love when there is one or more evil characters on a drama - they make things more fun and the main leads' reunion at the end more earned. This didn't happen over here. We had great material: the cold halmeoni, the calculating uncle and Do Hyun's mom... not to mention Cha Ki Joon (the cousin) or Chae Yeon. Every time one of them appeared on screen, I expected them to make a smart move and surprise me, but all they did was utter the wrong words. Seriously, I REALLY expected some serious threats to make the whole situation more anxious and interesting! This was a big let down. Maybe as a melo and makjang fan who has probably seen a lot of things whil pure evil enemies, was waiting for something more. Ok, but this can be forgiven because what is important here, is the DID and the road to recovery. Let's say the seemigly "bad people" including Do Hyun's father were only a backstory to that.

2) There were too many flashbacks and at some point it was confusing. Ok that they could help us viewers understand the backstory more, but do not let the footage be longer than 5 minutes! On the last episodes it was really TOO long, and could have been told through another telling method. In my opinion, a shorter FB gives a mysterious tone to the narration and makes the audience would want to look out for more. The FB's almost told everything we still needed to know, dragging the whole thing.

3) And this brings me to point 3. I honestly felt that up from episode 15 to 20, the writer just wrote stuff to "fill" the episodes, since they had them. I felt like 16 episodes would have sufficed. This is why the long flashbacks and long scenes with the main leads with basically 5 minutes or less of screentime for the secondary characters that as I wrote above, could have been given more 'evil' things to plot, instead of just walking away emotionless as they did. I don't like stories that drag out too much.

4) This may sound silly, but I was REALLY disappointed by the romantic part. I had watched Ji Sung and HJE in "Secret Love" and loved them because they portrayed a sweet yet bitter kind of romance. Here the romance was also messed up because of the personalities and the "triangle" between Do Hyun, Se Gi, and Ri Jin (quadrangle if we also add Ri On or pentagon with Chae Yeon). Don't get me wrong, I think they had the chemistry but somehow, when they kissed they seemed uncomfortable. Their kisses were just too simple and lasted FOOOOOREVER, I felt like sighing everytime. Bear with me, but if they are potraying something that has romance in it, to make me feel the whole thing, the romantic part has to be done in a way that I could enjoy, and here it was partially done so I feel a bit let down.

5) And maybe last point. I think the writer focused too much on the psychological part and the overcoming of the past. Like I said above, the romance is important when I watch something. If the ulterior plot besides the romance is not played in a way where it compensates for the lack of it, then even if it's well written like in this case, it leaves me with nothing much but a story about things I have studied in school (yeah, I was a psychology student). Had it been more evil touches and conspiration, I would have been more forgiving on this part. But since it didn't happen, I can just say I really appreciate how the writer explained this disorder and was creative about the personalities and what happens to people who suffer of DID, I can just compliment him/her on this aspect.

Finally let's talk about the cast and acting. I have already mentioned that I first saw Ji Sung and Hwang Jung Eum on "Secret" two years ago. They did not disappoint me. I find both of them good actors, JS was really good at playing seven different personalities - it really felt he was a different person each time. HJE was also good but when she shouted I didn't like it. They were good together, you could tell there was already a friendship between them, but I felt that one of them (maybe JS) was restraining themselves while acting. Maybe I'm wrong, but that's how I perceived it. Nothing to say to the other actors, they were ok and no one stood out more for me to comment about them.

Musically speaking, the only song that remained in my head is the main one with the rapper and the female voice. It is a good song with nice lyrics about the drama, and I'm surely not going to forget it soon. The other songs were ok.

This being said, I will give the whole drama a 7.5/8. Even if I complained, didn't mean I haven't enjoyed the whole thing... ;) I think it is worth the watch.

Leia Mais

I cannot sing this show's praises loud enough. My vocal folds simply won't allow me.

Everyone's said it, but Ji Sung is a serious pro. He didn't just explore his main character... he got into all seven of them (even the short-lived Mr. X). I bust out into involuntary laughter whenever Yo Na appears, get misty-eyed at Yo Sub, connect with Se Gi, giggle at Perry Park, and it just amazes me that you can SEE the difference in Ji Sung's face and body language with each personality. I'll say it again: PRO.

This is the second time I believe he and Hwang Jang Eum have paired up together. I'll admit I haven't seen their first drama together, but bet your bottom dollar it's next on my To Watch list. Ri Jin was fun, spunky, sassy, dramatic, and serious in just the right amounts that flowed with the story and how she interacted with the personalities. The chemistry between Ri Jin and Do Hyun was on fire, and I totally love that he was the one who fell first.

Although Ki Joon and Chae Yeon's stories were not the main point of the show, I'm kind of glad the first love/competing-for-CEO drama tropes weren't as prevalent over the half-way point. Those stories can drag a drama down.

The story was fun, energetic, dark, romantic, hilarious, and just had an all around engaging plot that left me on the edge of my seat wishing I could time travel to the next week for the following episode. I went back and rewatched those beautiful kiss scenes (though the last one in Episode 20 could have been lit a lot better). I want Behind the Scenes clips ASAP.

I definitely recommend this drama to someone who is ready to face some darker themes, company secrets, doctors for the most part obeying patient confidentiality, and anyone who wants to witness some STELLAR acting.

Leia Mais

A man with D.I.D (Multiple Personality Disorder) tries to get rid of his disorder with the help of a secret doctor - This is the first drama with this issue that I have watched, and I must say the whole crew who put this drama together did an amazing job, the places they went, the way it was filmed, the lighting - everything was perfect. I loved it.

I teared up over most of the "personalities", squealed with excitement over Se Gi, Rolled with laughter at Yo Na, felt warmth with Do Hyun, hurt for Yo Sub, and had fun with Perry ^^ Little Nana was adorable and Mr. X was...just like I had dreamed (Yes I had a dream where Mr.X appeared) he would be - apparel and all lol :P He's definitely mysterious *smirk* <----Ji Sung pulls all these characters off so well, I'm left speechless. I for one could never pull off a girl role as well as he did (even though I am a girl and he's not lol). Ji Sung is definitely an actor people should keep their eyes on.

Hwang Jung Eum plays Ri Jin exceptionally well, she's a great actress (I just always wish she keep her hair long). I loved Do Hyun's relationship with Ri Jin, the trust that was built between the two & the past the entwined them together. The actors have good chemistry (anyone who has watched their previous drama together would know lol).

Oh Ri On (Park Seo Joon) was great at playing the brother and mysterious writer Omega, I already want to see him on another drama. This was my 3rd drama seeing him on - he is definitely talented <3

Secretary Ahn Gook (Choi Won Young) I like this actor and was glad when I saw him here, he's a very loving secretary who looks
out for and cares for our lead. I'd place him in the position of a dad, older brother "Hyung" or best friend.

Music: 'Auditory Hallucinations' by Jang Jae In & Na Show & 'Unspeakable Secret' by Moon Myung Jin were my favorite songs
from this drama, I have them on cd now and listen to them a lot ^^

I will definitely rewatch this drama someday & would recommend it to anyone :D The only reason I rated this with a 9.5 is because I wanted a little more closure at the end.

Leia Mais

I was ready to like it because of the high ratings, I have to give it a 7 because I finished it. It just did not give me that feeling of real enjoyment. There is something about the movement of the drama, some scenes were just too long, it could have been just a few seconds but it was minutes...also 1) the lead girl's voice is annoying -high pitched 2) the rap song was driving me crazy 3) there was so many flashbacks that this could have been just 16 episodes 4) it did become draggy 5) the ending was sooo long, his closure on his "personalities" was just too much. I love the brother, though. ;)

Leia Mais

Doesn't work on so many different levels

This is my first review on here, but I just had to write one after seeing all the positive reviews and the rating for this show. They are not just positive, they are extremely positive with messages like "best drama ever", "masterpiece" and so on. I don't get that at all. Well, most of them are from 2015 and I watched it in 2022, so maybe this show just aged really badly. But I don't think so. And here's why:

Story: The overall idea of the many alternative personalities of the main lead is quite nice, I have to say! With this number of alternative personalities, so much would have been possible. But it was wasted, not explored at all. Instead, the drama was packed will all kinds of other things. It felt to me as if they wanted to make it a comedy, a love story, a mystery thriller and a story about a big corporation. And a doctor/patient story that educates the audience on psychiatric ilnesses. That's a lot. Probably not impossible but the writing here is just too bad and in the end, nothing makes sense. An example of a show, also including multiple personalities, where it made sense in the end and were the depth of the mind of the "patient" came to life is "Bad and Crazy" (2021). Also the other big aspect of the story, where they have a build-up of 18 episodes to make it appear as if there is a big dark mystery behind everything is weak, as they - spoiler alert - just don't deliver in the end. The biggest mystery to me was how I managed to watch this till the very end (self-torture, I guess ...).

Acting: the male lead is a phenomenal actor, but that doesn't help much if the writers and directors don't use his full potential. The female lead is horrible: overacting, screaming, crying like a baby, being happy like a kid - the child actor in the flashbacks was more serious than her! I have not seen her in other stuff, so I don't know if it is her inability or the director's choice! The writing for this character is definitely not suitable for a grown-up doctor and lover. Her character didn't bring anything to the story. The side actors are okay, no complaints here. I noticed the main female's dad and the psychiatrist professor as positive. However, the writing for most of the side caracters is, again, bad: the main female's brother really behaves like an a**hole the whole time (there is a 3-minute explanation somewhere in the end, that makes totally no sense), the male lead's mother, father and grandmother all are horrible people and there is little to no explanation on their behaviour in the end, the secretary is just like a dog that comes when called but is irrelevant to the story, same goes for the second love interest, and so on.

Editing: I noticed several times that the story jumps around quite a lot between places: one second they are all in his house, then her house then the company headquarter without a good reason and often without a proper segue/transition. And, but that's a K-Drama staple, overuse of flashbacks.

So, overall, I think there was so much potential, but it was executed so poorly. Definitley not worth 20 hours of your life!

Most memorable bits: Shin Se Gi's cheesy lines, Yo-na chasing after the idol and the brother (funny, but a bit homophobic) and the doctor ignoring al privacy standards without even blinking.

Leia Mais

Pros
-Some pretty good acting from Ji Sung! Was able to portray each character really well. Hwang jung eum was pretty good, at times I was like ...mehh :/...but other times was really good. I really liked seeing her in this character after watching Secret (which was also a good drama where she and Ji sung acted really well in) Another big cheers of good acting to park seo joon!
-Music was on POINT! Loved how each character of Ji Sung had its own instrumental.
- Had some really funny scenes, like I almost died
- I fell in love with Ji Sung

Cons
- Story was really good in the beginning....then I don't know what happened near the end. All of the 'conflicts' in the drama didn't really get solved. I felt like there were some big loose ends in the story. Like the writers got really lazy near the end. Wasn't happy with the ending. Good beginning and middle though which made me stick through the drama. I really did want to love it but it was so poorly put together at the end.
There's one part of the drama that really bothered me between two of the main actors I won't say who. I don't know why they did that. Also the writers made some actors in the story seem so important in the beginning but at the end they were totally irrelevant...
I think I'm being very generous by giving it a 6....maybe that's because of the pretty funny moments, good acting, and music.
It was a good drama. 7.5/10. I wish i could give it more, had potential to be GREAT.

Leia Mais

It's a Korean drama and the beauty of it is its portrayal of relationships no matter what kind. The connection between all the characters is precious and touching. The storyline for a lot of the drama is quite lacking but makes up for it with its powerful ending. Midway it flounders and goes in circles and doesn't make a lot of sense but the characters are EVERYTHING.
With this kind of complicated premise, it would have been helpful if they hashed out the “rules” of the personalities a little more.
I didn't expect this show to be so funny. But seven personalities in one body can get you into a lot of interesting situations.

Can we just give Ji Sung 10 million awards? This guy deserves all the stars.
This drama really put this actor through the loops. The characters and challenges that Ji Sung goes through in this drama to create different personalities in really wacky situations is so phenomenal. What an actor. What. An. Actor.

Do Hyun
Do Hyun is compassionate and gentle. He is at a disadvantage because he doesn't remember what happens when his other personalities are in control. The other personalities do remember and so they make deliberate attempts to confuse Do Hyun in order to be in control of the body. It was very strange to have the one personality leaving video messages for Do Hyun to find when he re-awoke. Also, his other personalities are enemies with himself. Do Hyun takes full responsibility for his actions when he wakes up – the poor fellow! You'd think that after all this time he'd just try and not show his face to the numerous people he's offended but he awkwardly strives to make things right.
It was interesting to see Do Hyun take some really active and practical measures to monitor his mental health to stop the personalities from kicking in. He was determined.

Shin Se Gi
Hello guyliner. This personality is smart and conniving. He knows how to pretend to be Do Hyun. He's the bad boy personality and the bad guy all wrapped up into one. I liked how the drama made a point of Se Gi having to bear the brunt of Do Hyun's unpleasant experiences and how he is the protector.
The ongoing fight that Do Hyun has with this character is sinister and intense but also very heart-breaking.

Yo Sub
Yo Sub was a bit cliché at first but he really brings out a beautiful side of Ri Jin and his character improves. Again, Ji Sung's quiet portrayal of him is intense and effective.

Ri Jin
She does a lot of yelling. When she's happy she screams, when she's angry, she screams. When she's drunk, she screams. She gets irritated a lot. I preferred her sweet side which is unusual for me. I usually like the ferocity of a heroine but Ri Jin's shining moments were when she was sharing her heart and quietly expressing feelings. That's when she seemed the most genuine.
A lot of the times she has so little common sense that it frustrates me. But other times, her psychiatric brain is working just fine and she just has the perfect comebacks.
But her dramatic moments seemed like overacting. It was hard to tell if it was just Ri Jin's superficial personality or the actress' weird portrayals of her.

Siblings
Ri On and Ri Jin are awesome sibs. They're great. It's the cutest. Ri On as a brother is way better than a boring best friend sidekick. He is so brilliant and funny. I really really liked this guy. His comic and tragic side is beautiful. I like that his dark side isn't even part of the main tragedy but it's just as heartbreaking but in a different way. He's just so wrapped up because he loves his sister. And when he turns on the serious badass side? Daaamn.

Ki Joon
I liked this guy a lot even though he had to play a stereotypical bad guy. But his expression was far from boring. His portrayal of the uptight guy who seems put together but will explode if things don't go his way, is flawless.

You know it's a good drama when I've got way too much to say about every character. How amazing is Ri Jin's mother? That compassionate and maternal look on her face is so beautiful.

Leia Mais

Tips for First Time Watchers

Watched this drama twice, the first time way back in 2015 and the second time just finished it yesterday to give a 10 rating (rare from me, only for masterpiece performances). Since there are already hundreds of great reviews of this drama, I will just write on tips how to watch it for the first time: for either viewers who love to take time watching one quality drama (slow-takers) or viewers who binge-watch dramas or do not have much time to watch drama (fast-takers).

I was completely confused and raked my brain when watching it for the first time, as this show is not one light fluffy romcom that you can just breeze thru for killing time. For the second time I was more able to enjoy the romance and comedy features, the superb acting of Ji Sung, Hwang Jung Eum, and Park Seo Joon, and the OST.

SLOW TAKERS FIRST TIME VIEWERS:
- Put aside some ample time to watch at least one full episode (1 hour) as this is not the one you can watch 5 or 10 minutes while doing chores to be picked up the rest later.
- For every episode: write down any catchy details as they provide clues for the mystery. You may have to go back watching that particular episode.
- Pay attention of the Cha Do Yun's family tree that Oh Ri On made. There are a lot of members in that family to confuse you on who is who.
- Pay attention of the clippings and pictures collected by Oh Ri On. They provide the past story of plot and characters.
- Pay attention of the introduction of each Do Yun's multi personalities as their appearances shape the plot.

FAST TAKERS FIRST TIME VIEWERS:
- There are so many flashback scenes in this drama you can skip some of them. Flashback of a certain personality or events can be skipped or fast forwarded as they only compile of what you already watched before. But do not skip flashbacks of historic events of 21 years past that are explained by some characters.
- Look for the explanation of the multiple personalities on the internet.
- Look for Cha Do Yun's family tree in the internet. But beware it provides also the important connection that is a huge spoiler of this drama that can take away the thrill of revealing the mystery by yourself.

Leia Mais

Well would you look at that, the second drama this year to surpass the 9.0 mark. Truth be told, I hadn't actually planned on writing a review, because everyone else's reviews basically summed up everything I had to say, but I mean why not add in my two cents right?

The story was very intriguing for me. A third generation chaebol with 7 different personalities (aka Dissociative Identity Disorder) falls in love with the psychologist treating him. Honestly, I think it's amazing what the body can do as a result of a defense mechanism. DID itself is something amazing. Of course, people with this disorder suffer greatly and it definitely isn't fun or great or amazing for them, but if you really think about it, it's unbelievable. Completely different personalities living in one body? And this is real? Similar disorders could be schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, but DID is by far the most extreme. Okay, now that we've gotten past my fascination. At first, I was tentative about starting this. She falls in love with a guy with DID? How is that going to work, is she going to shun all the other personalities and only give affection to one? I had many worries about the plot in the beginning, especially with Shin Se Gi coming out right off the bat. However, those worries quickly evaporated as the story continued. The writers wove the most creative storyline, managing to cover everything. It's as if they could hear all my worries. "Oh, you're worried about this? Well here you go now it works and it makes sense." "Oh, what about this you say? We got that covered too."Claps for you.

The cast was hands down amazing. I don't even know what to say about Ji Sung...is he some angel sent down from heaven? By far the best actor I've seen. (solely based on opinion and everything I have watched in my short lifetime so far...don't kill me (heal me HAHAHA IM FUNNY) The fact that he managed to play all the different personalities so convincingly, with different ways of speech and different gazes....Wow. Just W.O.W. Hwang Jung Eum didn't disappoint either, her specialties are crying scenes honestly, which is good because crying is often the hardest challenge actors/actresses have to face haha. Nobody likes a hanging tear that refuses to fall out. Oh Ri Jin was slightly annoying at times with her screaming and screeching and such, but I guess you just have to accept that that's how the writers wrote the character out to be.

There were only a couple songs that stood out to me, but the music was very fitting so it's getting a high rate. But just, Auditory Hallucinations UGH that song kills (heals) me. I'm so funny I know. I should go on a gag show. Although y'all would probably throw tomatoes and other various fruits and vegetables at me. ANYWAY. I love it so much and I am beyond mad that I can't find it anywhere at the moment. But it's okay, I can wait. A little bit.

Rewatch is a definite yes for me, even though I almost never rewatch. This drama was just that good.

Overall, this drama is really setting the standards high for 2015, and I highly anticipate what's to come. I must say that as great as it is, it's still a close second to Healer. Healer is just pure amazingness, and I'm waiting for the drama that can come along and knock it off the throne. Once again, all of this is based merely on opinion and preference, so don't kill me (heal me....Ok ok I'm done for real with that it's already old yes yes I know you saw it coming...But you gotta admit it was a little funny....no? ok...) Ok I'm done annoying you with my terrible humor. I hope this review helped you, and I encourage you to watch this beautiful drama. While it was at times very tragically sad and melodrama-like, there were also many times where I laughed until I cried. Happy watching!

Leia Mais

Let me start by saying that this drama is one of the unique dramas out there. Each episode has fresh scenes (nothing like you have seen before) and the story is so rich with details that it will always leave you asking for more. Needless to stay, the story was addicting.

Ji Sung was one of the actors that I am really not fond of. But watching this drama totally changed my mind. Ji Sung is one of the best Korean actors out there! He has a so-freaking-amazing-I-could-not-put-it-to-words acting skill and good looks to boot (I was so stupid not to notice this before). But seriously, I fell in love with all the characters he portrayed. If I were Ri-Jin I would not know who I would ask to stay. The sweet goody-two-shoes Cha Do Hyeon or the possessive hot alpha male Shin Se gi. Seriously, Shin Se gi is badass!

I love how the story was well-written, how each cliffhanger always proves your suspicions wrong, how the tables are turned and how twisted their fate. It is not the typical kdrama and I love the pacing of the story, not too fast nor too dragging.

If there's a tiny little bit dislike I have for this is its lack of ROMANCE. Sure, there are some love scenes, but the characters are so beautifully made that I could not get enough of them. Other than that, all I have is love for this drama.

All in all, it's one of the series that is well worth of your time. Something that would not disappoint until the end.

Leia Mais